Arabic version: ترامب يلمّح إلى تحول محتمل في استراتيجية الحرب مع إيران
According to Al Jazeera, United States President Donald Trump has signalled a possible new phase in the US-Iran war after the first direct strikes between the two sides in more than a month. Trump said, “We’re going to hit them hard,” after Iran launched missiles at US military sites in Jordan in response to US strikes on Iran’s Larak Island.
Washington said it struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, near Bandar Abbas in the Strait of Hormuz, which it said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was preparing to use to scatter sea mines. Iranian media reported that three people were killed. Jordan said it intercepted eight missiles fired at two airbases hosting US personnel and assets.
The exchange renewed concerns of a more intense military phase, though Trump said it did not necessarily mean a return to full-scale war. He said the Strait of Hormuz was in “extremely good shape” and claimed Iran’s financial system, military and leadership had been largely degraded. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iranian forces would cease fire if the US did the same and fulfilled commitments under an interim June deal that has since expired.
Al Jazeera reported that Axios said the Trump administration may be considering a “no war, no peace” approach involving periodic attacks intended to keep oil tankers moving safely through the Gulf. The plan had not been approved by Trump, Axios reported. Iran effectively closed the strait in early March and has allowed only some ships it considers “friendly” to pass at times, while both Tehran and Washington say they control the waterway.
Analysts cited by Al Jazeera questioned whether sporadic military action could be sustained. Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute said periodically bombing a country amounted to a “forever war”. Negar Mortazavi of the Center for International Policy said a mutual return to the June memorandum of understanding remained the clearest route to de-escalation. Traffic through Hormuz has fallen from about 100 ships a day to a daily average of seven during the war, Al Jazeera reported.
